A strong and vibrant democracy is possible only when parliament is fully inclusive of the population it represents. Parliaments cannot consider themselves inclusive, however, until they can boast the full participation of women. This is not just about women's right to equality and their contribution to the conduct of public affairs, but also about using women's resources and potential to determine political and development priorities that benefit societies and the global community.

Improving women's access to and participation in parliament is one of the core aims of the Inter-Parliamentary Union which aspires to build real partnerships between men and women in politics. Our efforts are underpinned by the collection and analysis of statistical data on the subject.

Please note that the data below is for the current number of women parliamentarians. Data on the number of women parliamentarians following the most recent election or renewal can be found in the Last elections module on PARLINE. More details and a statistical archive can be found in the section on Women in national parliaments.

all parliamentary structures
only unicameral parliaments
only bicameral parliaments
only lower chambers
only upper chambers
lower chambers and unicameral parliaments

The "Export details" feature includes the current number and percentage of women parliamentarians. More options for exporting data from PARLINE are available in the Toolbox. See the "How to ..." section for help on exporting data.